The History of Siberian Cats

Siberians were shown in Russian in 1987 at the first cat show in Leningrad.  Two cat clubs 'Kotofei' and 'Kis' organized it.  This is the actual beginning of recorded breeding of Siberians in Russia.  With the fall of the iron curtain and the end of the cold war between Russia and the United States, the doors opened for the Siberian cat to be imported to the United States. 

The first breeding Siberians were introduced in the United States in 1990. Elizabeth Terrell imported the initial kittens. They arrived on June 28, 1990. Their names were KALIOSTRO VASENJKOVICH OF STARPOINT, OFELIA ROMANOVA OF STARPOINT and NAINA ROMANOVA OF STARPOINT.

All of the first Siberians imported came with the 'Kotofei' seal to prove that they were Siberians and recognized by that Russian Club.  The first Siberian Breed Club in the U.S. was TAIGA Siberian Breed Club.  It was started in November of 1992.  It was formed to promote Siberians and work on getting the breed recognized in all U.S. cat registering organizations.  The Siberians were first presented to CFA in March, 1994 but were not accepted into MISC class. CFA accepted them into MISC class in May, 2000. 

 

The Siberian Cats Club was formed to promote Siberians in CFA and get them recognized for provisional status (2005) and then championship status (2006).  Siberians are recognized for championship in all U.S. registries.

The Siberian is a cat that nature designed to survive, with no extremes in type.  Siberians are a natural breed and are found in the unforgiving climate of Siberia as well as in cities and on farms in Russia.  Siberians have been documented in Russia for 1000 years.  They were needed to protect grain and other products from small varmints, as Russia was an agricultural country.  Siberians are mentioned in Russian fairy tales.

Shopkeepers in Moscow were known to compete with each other over whose cat was the biggest and thickest. Russian people like cats and most children in Russia grew up with a kitten and the favorite cat was and still is the Siberian cats.  President Gorbachov had a Siberian named Murat for a pet. Dmitry Medvedev, the current President of Russia, has a colorpoint Siberian for a pet.